Water-gage.



C. J. MATTHEWS.

WATER GAGE. Prmoulol num nov. as, 1901.

Patentd NOV. 3, 1908.

@warmup CHRISTOPHER J. MATTHEWS, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

WATER-GAGE.

specincation i Lettera Patent.

rammed Nov. 3, 190e.

Application led November 22, 1907. Burial No. 403,826.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I. CHRISTOPHER J. MATTHEWS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county Kent and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful later-Gage, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improve ments in water gages for steam boilers or other such structures, and its object is to provide a gage in which the water and steam leads to the gage glass are automatically closed on the breakage of the gage glass, and so remain until a new glass is inserted.

The invention comprises a normally inactive valve a `each end of the gage glass acting as an a junct to the usual cut-oil valve there located, so that on breaking of the ga e glass, the outrush of steam or water, depen ing on the end of the gage structure considered, will close the valve and 'thus prevent a continuation of such outflow. In accordance with the present invention, each auxiliary valve normally rests at the lower end of an `inclined track overhanging a chamber from which leads a blow-oil' pet cock, and through the track is provided a passage for the gravitat-ion of any scale which ma reach the supplemental valve, into the c amber leading to the blow-oil. valve'. B this means, accumulations of scale whic might interfere with the proper seating of the supplemental or auxiliary valve are prevented, since any deposited scale is blown out every time the gage glass is blown off. Thus, the certain seating of the auxiliary valves is assured whenever the gage glass breaks.

The inventionv will be best understood from the following detail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one end of the gage glass structure. Fig. 2 is a cross section through the blow-oft' chamber and inclined track, on a line central to the blow-ott valve. y

Referring to the drawings, there'is shown therein but one end, the lower end, of the ga e glass structure, and the following description will be limited to the showing with the understanding, however, that a similar structure is provided for the upper end of the age glass.

T e valvli casing 1 is provided with a neck 2 threaded on its exterior and provided Aat its upper end with a counter-bore 3 designed to receive the lower end of a suitable gage glass 4. Applied to the neck 2 is a gland 5 confining packin 6 around the lower end of the age gass immediately above the neck 2. he gland 5 is formed with an upward extension 7 having interior screw threads to receive the threaded ends of a tubular casing 8 concentric with and spaced from the gage glass and designed to protect the same from injury and also to prevent particles of glass from being scattered about should the gage glass burst. The shield 8 is provided with the usual 1on-` gitudinal slot for observing the gage glass, but as this is a common structure, it is not shown in the drawings.- v

dThe forward end of the body 1 is formed with a threaded socket 9 to receive a threaded plug 10 into which is screwed a valve stem 11 terminating in a valve head 12 at one end and at the other end in a valve stem 13, which latter is surrounded by a gland 14 screwed onto the end of the plug 10 and contining packing about said stem in the usual manner.

In the casing 1 immediately below the gage glass 4 there is formed a chamber 16 housing the valve head 12 and leading from this chamber is a port 17 at the entrance which there is a 4valve seat 18 for the valve 12. The port -17 leads into another chamber 19 below which the casing is formed with a hollow boss 20 closing the chamber 21. The lower end of the boss 20 is tapped for the reception of a blow-ott' valve 22 which may be of the usual pet-cock type. Between the chambers 19 and 21 there is an inclined-track composed of two ledges 23, 23 formed on the inside walls of the casing and projecting toward each other but terminating at a suiicient distance apart to leave a longitudinal slot 24 between the contiguous edges of the track. The upper faces of the tracks are curved outwardly and upwardly.' At the entrance of the port 17 into the chamber 19 there is formed another valve seat 25, soy

shaped as to be electually closed by means of a ball 26 contained within the chamber 19 and normally resting at the lowest point of the tracks 23. which latter at their highest points are adjacent to the valve seat 25` and then slope downwardly and ultimately curve upward, as shown at 27, to form a retaining pocket for the bali 2e which bridges the e "v tracks and is constrained by these two tracks to follow a middle course along them. e rear end of the casin 1 beyond the chamber 19 terminates in a t readed socket 28 receiving one end of a short nipple 29, the other end of which is screwed mto the boiler or other structure upon which the gage is mounted. The valve structure at the upper end of the ga e glass is, of course, a duplicate of the va ve structure shown 1n Fig. 1, except that the neck 2 and the boss 20 are upon the same side of the casing 1, instead o on opposite sides, as in the ower valve structure. h h l l Assuming t at t e a e ass is ro er installed, the valve 12gisgopned at both) thi top and bottom of the gage glass, and the water then 'lows into the gage glass in the usual manner without, however, moving with sullicient velocity under the circumstances to cause the lower ball to seat in the valve seat 25.. Should the gage glass break, there is immediately an outrush ofwater through the lower connections and steam through the upper connections, and this sudden outrush overcomes the inertia and weight of the ball 26 in the respective connections and carries it to the valve seat 25 where it is held by the superior pressure on the boiler side. A new gage glass' may now be inserted even `without closing the valve 12, and after the glass is in place the leaka e by the ball 26 will soon establish equili rium of pressure and the ball will then drop from the valve seat 25 and roll down the `inclined track to the lowermost portion thereof. Whatever scale may accu mulate will gravitate down the inclined track and the lnclined sides thereof and find its way into the chamber 21. Since it is the custom to blow oi the ga e glass from time to time through the va ve 22 any scale which may have accumulated will be carried out with the steam or water. The chamber 21 forms a pocket for the scale sulliciently remote from the valve seat 25 and suliiciently out of the path of the ball 26 sothat the scale can never interfere lwith the proper seating of the ball in the seat 25.

1. A water gage for steam boilers pro` vided with a suitable gage glass, a chamber out of the line of the gage glass and between the same and the boiler, said chamber provided with a tport leadn to the ga e glass and provide with a va ve seat in te chamber side, an inclined'track in said chamber leading in a downward direction awaly]l from the valve seat and terminating at t e other or boiler end of the chamber, and a ball valve normally carried and ed to the valve seat by 'the track an alwa s in th cpath of iiuidv moving from the boi er towar the ga e glass.

2.` A water gage or steam boilers provided wlth a suitable gage glass, a chamber out of the line of the ga glass and between the same and the boir, said chamber communicating with the gage glass through a ort havin a valve seat on the chamber si e `and wit the boiler through a port olpposite the first-named port, a track in said c amber consisting of two inclined members i having separated adjacent edges and leading from a point coincident with the lower edge of the valve seat downward and awa-y from the same and terminating at the boiler side of the chamber adjacent to the port leading from the chamber to the boiler, a ball valve normally carried and guided to the valve seat by the track and always in the path of fluid under pressure issuing from the boiler, and a blow-oli' valve cornmunicating with the chamber below the track and constituting the blow-offwalve for the gage cocks.

3. A water age for steam boilers provided with a sultable gage glass, a chamber out of the line of the gage glass between the s ame and the boiler, said chamber com' munlcating with the gage glass through a port having a valve seat on the chamber side, another chamber or pocket below the first named chamber, an inclined track leading downward from the said valve seat, the said track consisting of two members s aced apart with the upper surfaces incline upwardly and outwardly in a lateral direction,` a blow-off valve leading from the pocket, and a ball valve normal y carried by the track.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailixed my signature 1n the presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER J. MATTHEWS. 

